Lagos Life Needs, Skills and Traits: How They Work
How needs, skills and traits work in Lagos Life: the six need meters, the nine skills that unlock promotions, and all ten starting traits. Checked October 6, 2026.
Everything you do in Lagos Life changes your needs and trains your skills, and your skills decide how far you get up a career ladder. This guide explains the three systems using the game’s data and what we saw in play on October 6, 2026.
The six needs
The meters at the bottom left of the screen are Hunger, Energy, Fun, Social, Hygiene and Bladder. Activities raise or lower them, and a hungry, tired character works badly, so eat and rest before a shift. Each place page shows the effect of every activity.
How fast each need drops
The game’s data gives a decay rate per game hour, and we sampled two of them while standing still (Hunger fell 5.5 an hour and Bladder about 5):
| Need | Drops per game hour |
|---|---|
| Hunger | 5.5 |
| Fun | 4.5 |
| Bladder | about 4 |
| Energy | 4 |
| Hygiene | 3.5 |
| Social | 3 |
Activities can drain extra: a rainy day in Port Harcourt soaks you and Hygiene drops fast, and shopping lowers Social.
Sleep
| What you sleep on | Price | Energy restored |
|---|---|---|
| Foam mattress | ₦1,800 | +12 per 8 hours |
| Spring bed | ₦7,800 | +15 |
| Lekki King Bed | ₦28,800 | +19, plus the “Slept Like an Oba” mood |
| Nap (90 minutes) | free | +16 |
| Dozing in a car or at a bus station | free | +10 |
See all furniture and prices, and NEPA power cuts for keeping the lights on.
The nine skills
Skills grow when you do activities that train them, and promotions need a skill level plus full Performance (see the jobs guide). The number in brackets is the training rate from the game’s data; higher trains faster.
| Skill | Activities that train it | Fastest activities | Careers that use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charisma | 48 | Shut Down the Club (1.5), Practice Speech (1.3), Spoken Word Open Mic (1.3) | Banking, Content Creator, Teaching, Football, Retail, Law |
| Fitness | 37 | Session with a Coach (3), Lift Weights (2), Run on the Treadmill (1.6) | Nursing, Fitness Coach, Medicine, Aviation, Oil & Gas, Keke Riding |
| Photography | 36 | Practise Photography (1.4), Paid Beach Photoshoot (1), Skyline Photos (0.9) | – |
| Hustle | 22 | Buy & Resell Goods (1.5), Talk Billion-Naira Deals (1.4), Network with Big Men (1.3) | Trading, Hairstyling, Event Planning, Civil Service, Wuse Market Trading, Creek Road Trading |
| Music | 13 | Play the Piano (1.9), Practice Guitar (1.3), Open Mic Performance (1.2) | Music, DJ |
| Dance | 13 | Practise Dance Moves (1.3), Enter the Dance Battle (1.2), Dance to Burna (1) | – |
| Cooking | 12 | Learn Mama’s Ewedu Secret (1.8), Egusi Soup & Eba (1.3), Efo Riro & Semo (1.3) | Chef, Mai Shayi, Bole & Fish |
| Coding | 10 | Weekend Hackathon (2), Hack on Side Project (1.6), Code at a Hot Desk (1.6) | Tech |
| Comedy | 8 | Film a Comedy Skit (1.5), Practise Stand-up (1.3), Perform at Comedy Night (1.2) | Broadcasting |
The ten starting traits
You pick a trait during character creation. Each one speeds up a skill or changes how a need drops.
| Trait | What it does |
|---|---|
| Hustler | Sees money everywhere. Hustle skill grows faster and bosses notice. |
| Foodie | Lives for jollof. Learns cooking fast and food is extra enjoyable. |
| Owambe Spirit | Always ready to spray money. Parties and dancing hit different, but gets bored quicker. |
| Gym Rat | Leg day every day. Fitness grows fast and workouts feel good. |
| Smooth Talker | Mouth sweet like honey. Charisma grows fast and socials land better. |
| Lazy Bone | Why stand when you can sit? Energy lasts longer, work suffers a bit. |
| Clean Pikin | Always fresh. Hygiene drops slower than others. |
| Night Crawler | Lagos no dey sleep, neither do you. Loves nightlife. |
| Tech Bro or Sis | Has three startup ideas before breakfast. Coding grows faster. |
| Musical | Hums Asake in the shower. Music skill grows faster. |
Lapo Babies also start with Hustle at level 2 and learn every skill 25% faster; see nepo vs lapo.
How to choose
Pick the trait that matches the career you want: Tech Bro or Sis for Tech, Musical for the Music ladder, Hustler for the Trading, Hairstyling and Event Planning ladders, and Smooth Talker for Banking. If you want a relaxed run, Clean Pikin and Lazy Bone make needs drop more slowly.
Verified in the game’s data tables, October 6, 2026. This is an independent fan wiki.